Ana Bailao: Promise Made, Promise Kept
Motion Passes to Bring Back Parking on Dundas West
“My motion to bring back parking on Dundas passed unanimously at 8:47pm,” Bailao announced on Twitter on Tuesday night. (referring to her first meeting of Toronto and East6 York Community Council. Seems room was packed with civic engagement! Great!
Recommendation will go to full council for approval soon and should be a slam dunk. Thanks Ana.
THE CITY BUDGET !
Public Consultation on Budget TONIGHT !!!
Budget Sub-Committee for Etobicoke York, and Toronto and East York Consultation will be meeting Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at the EAST YORK CIVIC CENTRE Council Chamber at 6:00pm
* Note the location * 850 Coxwell Avenue · North-west corner of Coxwell Avenue and Mortimer Avenue Toronto ON M4C 5R1
Councillor Mike Del Grande (Chair), Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, Councillor Chin Lee hosting.
Contact (you would have had to9 register to make 5 minute in person deputation)
Merle MacDonald 10th floor, West Tower, City Hall, 100 Queen Street West. Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
email: buc@toronto.ca phone: 416-392-7340 fax: 416-392-1879
This will be pretty well the ONLY chance for the public in ward 18 to have any impact on the budget, although you could still send suggestions, ideas, concerns to our City Councillor Ana Bailao
(but she is but 1 of 45 votes on Council)
* Side Note: I had registered to make deputation in person, but had a slip and fall inhjury so I am hobbling about. Not surte if I will be able to make it.
The TTC - Planned Service Cuts
Do any of these proposed cuts affect YOU? If so, speak up, here's your chance:
TTC Public Meetings on Proposed Route Changes
Proposed route changes being considered for implementation in May 2011 would reallocate service, during some times of the week, from bus routes which have low ridership. These changes are required to free up resources to increase service on routes where it is needed most due to record-level ridership.
Four public meetings will be held to provide information on the routes which are proposed for reallocation and alternatives to those routes, and to obtain feedback from customers (these venues have barrier-free access):
Toronto area meeting = •Monday, January 24, 2011, 7:00pm to 9:00pm - Metro Hall, Room 308/309, 55 John Street at King Street; direct access from St Andrew Station.
For those unable to attend any of these meetings, but wish to provide comment, go to TTC Service Complaint/Suggestion Form. Weblink click here
The public can also call the TTC at 416-393-3030, Monday-Friday, 8am to 5pm, or can contact their City Councillor.
........................
Proposed Route Changes
5 AVENUE RD – No service after 7:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
61 AVENUE RD NORTH – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
6 BAY – No service after 10:00 p.m., every day.
9 BELLAMY – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
8 BROADVIEW – No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
120 CALVINGTON – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday. No service on Sundays and holidays.
20 CLIFFSIDE – No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
42 CUMMER – No service east of Kennedy Road after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service east of Kennedy Road on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
127 DAVENPORT – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
105 DUFFERIN NORTH – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
26 DUPONT – No service after 10:00 p.m., every day.
32 EGLINTON WEST – No 32D (Eglinton West Stn-Jane & Emmett) service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. No 32D (Eglinton West Stn-Jane & Emmett) service after 7:00 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. No 32A (Eglinton Stn-Renforth & Skymark) service west of Renforth on Saturdays.
15 EVANS – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
33 FOREST HILL – No service after 7:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
135 GERRARD – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
14 GLENCAIRN – No service after 10:00 p.m., every day.
122 GRAYDON HALL – No service after 10:00 p.m., every day.
169 HUNTINGWOOD – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Saturdays. No service on Sundays and holidays.
110 ISLINGTON SOUTH – No service on Horner Avenue or Browns Line to Long Branch Loop after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
43 KENNEDY – No 43B (Kennedy Stn-Scarborough Centre Stn via Progress) service after 7:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. No 43B (Kennedy Stn-Scarborough Centre Stn via Progress) service on Sundays and holidays.
30 LAMBTON – No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
162 LAWRENCE-DONWAY – No off peak service. Service to operate Monday-Friday morning and afternoon peak only.
56 LEASIDE – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. No service west of Laird Drive to Eglinton Station Sunday/holiday daytime.
51 LESLIE – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
59 MAPLE LEAF – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
130 MIDDLEFIELD – No service after 10:00 p.m., every day.
132 MILNER – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
116 MORNINGSIDE – No 116A/E (Kennedy Stn-UofT Scarborough Express/Conlins) service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No 116A/E (Kennedy Stn-UofT Scarborough Express/Conlins)service on Saturday, Sundays, and holidays.
62 MORTIMER – No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
74 MT PLEASANT – No service after 7:00 p.m., every day.
103 MT PLEASANT NORTH – No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
72 PAPE – No 72A service south of Eastern Avenue to Commissioners and Union Station after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, September-May. No 72A service south of Eastern Avenue to Commissioners and Union Station after 7:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays, September-May.
101 PARC DOWNSVIEW PARK – No service, September-May.
167 PHARMACY NORTH – No off peak service. Service to operate Monday-Friday morning and afternoon peak only.
80 QUEENSWAY – No off peak service east of Humber Loop, every day. No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
48 RATHBURN – No service after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
73 ROYAL YORK – No 73B (Royal York Stn-Eglinton & La Rose) service after 7:00 p.m., every day.
76 ROYAL YORK SOUTH – No 76B (Royal York Stn-Queensway & Grand Ave) service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Friday. No 76B (Royal York Stn-Queensway & Grand Ave) service on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
78 ST ANDREWS – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
86 SCARBOROUGH – No off peak 86D (Kennedy Stn-Beechgrove via Lawrence) service. Service on 86D (Kennedy Stn-Beechgrove via Lawrence) to operate Monday-Friday morning and afternoon peak only.
115 SILVER HILLS – No off peak service. Service to operate Monday-Friday morning and afternoon peak only.
60 STEELES WEST – No off peak service west of Martin Grove to Highway 27. Service west of Martin Grove to operate Monday-Friday morning and afternoon peak only.
124 SUNNYBROOK – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
55 WARREN PARK – No service after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
94 WELLESLEY – No service west of Wellesley Station after 10:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
112 WEST MALL – No 112C (Kipling Stn-Disco Rd) service north of Eglinton Avenue after 10:00 p.m., Saturdays. No 112C (Kipling Stn-Disco Rd) service north of Eglinton Avenue after 7:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays.
98 WILLOWDALE-SENLAC – No service after 10:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday. No service after 7:00 p.m., Sundays and holidays. No service east of Sheppard-Yonge Station, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
96 WILSON – No 96C/F off peak service to Tandridge Crescent or Thistle Down Boulevard. Service on 96C (York Mills Stn-Tandridge & Thistle Down via Albion) to Tandridge Crescent or Thistle Down Boulevard to operate Monday-Friday morning and afternoon peak only.
SGT. RYAN RUSSELL, Toronto Police Services Funeral
Sights from the Funeral Procession
Why Police Mourn en masse for Slain Cops
A City in Mourning
Now magazine article
It is indeed tragic that someone doing service to keep the city safe loses his life in the line of duty.
However, some reading between the lines of some reports, particularly the last one listed above, have dire overtones. Witness this from midway through the story:
"Having weathered the fallout from the G20 arrests last June, some welcomed the funeral as a chance to show loyalty to the Toronto Police Service. “There’s an element of society armed with body piercings, video phones and lawyers with no moral compass who made it their business to go on a vendetta against the police, especially since the G20,” Mr. Opher told me. “The silver lining of this tragedy is that it gives me and the other 98% the opportunity to express our feelings and show the police that we respect, honour and love them.”
I certainly hope no one thinks this puts an end to the terrible G20 civil rights violations by some police last summer.
In my opinion, these two events are totally unrelated.
* Update: Protestor at a Funeral? Yes it was tasteless, but not illegal. His being arrested is proof of police state mentality it seems. They probably set him up for a good civil suit against the police/city. sigh
* Update2: Torontoist John Lorinc has a well thought out article about the en masse funeral phenomenon here
* Update3: Video reminnder of the culture of G20 is here
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Ana Bailao's First Town Hall Meeting Report
So What Happened?
Kudos to ward 18 Davenport City Councillor Ana Bailao for holding her first Town Hall meeting as was promised in her election campaign. There was a mixed bag of about 60+ people at the Wallace Emerson Community Centre at Dupont and Dufferin on Saturday, January 15. There was really not enough room for everyone to see the slide presentations and it was cramped. A better venue is needed, although there was Tim's coffee, doughnuts and cookies.
*** Update: Inside Toronto reported on the meeting weblink here
*** Update2: Bloordale Press reports on meeting here
The meeting started a little late but included a rather over-long presentation of slides by a senior staff bureaucrat, Josie Lavita, the Director of Financial planning. Lots of figures, pie charts and great detail - pretty much all of which could be found on the city's main website here
This was followed by a rather lengthy, ponderous defence and sell job by right wong Ford supporter ward 39 Scarbourough-Agincourt councillor and Chair of the Budget Committee, Mike del Grande. Trying to appear folksy and comparing a nine billion dollar city budget as being similar to how anyone would do their home budgets: "There is no more free lunch in Toronto"... "We did things differently in Scarborough... 'pay as you go', You have to have the money before you spend"... A lot of effort to subtly blame the previous administration for the fix we're in and to pacify the mostly lefty ward18 audience. And perhaps, run out the clock to avoid a public consultation where the public actually gets to speak. An audience member (me) reminded Mike he was not in Ford country now - the ward like all of downtown did not vote for Ford, and it was suburbia that put Rob Ford in power.
Finally, we got to only 10 questions from the 60 people there before it was cut off by Ana citing lack of time.
(about 25 minutes out of 2 hours for questions?)
There were a lot of hands up and people who never got to ask their questions. Ana had intended on the agenda to have small group breakout sessions where neighbourrs were supposed to discuss ward 18 issues together and then present to the larger group. Definitely overyly-optimistic when you allow bureaucrats and other politicians (del Grande) to talk so long. So this 90 minutes of the two hour scheduled meeting never happened.
Insteand, Ana had everyone write out their concerns which were collected as people left by her staff. Presumable she will look at them and perhaps respond to individual concerns, but is was too bad the public did not get to engage much with each other. Good intentions but poor implementation.
Overall, it was 90% a spectator event where you sit and are told what is good, then have a scramble to ask a question - or not. Only a fair grade on public consultation, but at least Ana unlike other councillors is taking this extra step to involve the consituents in some small way.
....
The Questions:
1. Given that Mr. del Grande explained that the budget process has a number of filters: first, staff creates it under Mayor's guidline, then it goes to committees, then it goes to the Mayor's Executive Committee, and then to City Council where it is voted on in late February (23rd) and that public consultation is the last filter to make sure priorities are right, would you consider for the next 2012 budget process to reverse that? In other words, why don't we do a Values Exercise where we put the public at the start of the process and ask what are the 10 or so things in your ward that is important, by priority? Questioner (me) commented that this year's budget is incredibly rushed, has been shown up to have been made up on the fly and this year we have so many rookie councillors just learning, but can it be changed for NEXT year?
Answer: Not really answered. Mike del Grande pointed out that he had sent an email to all councillors asking precisely that, what are the priorities in your ward, and was attacked in the media for having ulterior motives. Followup: I asked Ana if she had responded to that email with priorities and she said, "No".
I really wonder why not?
2. Another person asking why there were service cuts in the budget since no cuts were promised during the election campaign.
Answer: No answer. Some dancing by del Grande about how budgets are very detailed and they are still looking at it.
3. A woman was visibly upset about how user fees for child/day care are done. Full fee is $35 a day but people who are subsidized only pay $6 a day. Cannot afford to save for a down payment for a home and felt it was inequality.
Answer: Ana noted that the subsidies are for those on low income to provide equality precisley because of that.
4. A woman asked how come the Mayor who has only one vote has such power to set the agenda for the budget. It seems like a tyranny.
Answer: Mike del Grande said that Mayor Rob Ford had a mandate becuase of his election and it is normal for mayors to set the tone, just as Miller did. (I challenged him that his mandate is not that detailed, people cote for him for different reasons)
5. Another woman complained that the city seems to be wasting money what with the roads at College and Dovercourt frequently being dug up, filled in, only to be dug up again and repaved many times. Concerned that money is being wasted there when the TTC is in such need. She asked what could be done to make other levels of government (province, federal) pay a greater share.
Answer: Ana responded to last point - elections are coming for those levels. Make yourself heard.
6. An elderly gentleman said property taxpayers are being hit too hard. Why doesn't the TTC have a fare system that charges for the distance travelled like in England?
Answer: Ana pointed out that a lot of low paid people travel farthest just to get to work and it is a service they need.
7. A woman said we should thank former Mayor Miller for the surplus in the budget and asked what the big chunk of the budget that just says "Other" means.
Answer: Financial staff will get back to you on that. ???
------- Actually is almost $700 million or 1.74% of the total budget, not sure what it means either.
8. A fellow named Franz said he liked paying property taxes because it makes for a better and healthier city. He pointed out that each budget seems to go from punishing one group at the expense of others. Example: Now the vehicle registration tax is dead but it is going to hurt the TTC and bus routes are being cut. This led to him directly asking Ana about the TEA (Toronto Environmental Alliance) survey and whether she would support or vote against cutting 48 bus routes.
Answer: Ana said it was intended to increase ridership and that she supports anything that keeps ridership. (?)
9. Another woman on the Vehicle Registration Tax: I have 4 kids, keep my car in the garage most of the time, but most of my family uses the TTC. What will be the actual cost of giving rebates to people for the cancelled tax? (the process)
Answer: Not answered, staff and Ana seemed unsure of what the question was.
10. Last Question: Woman was mystified and said cancelling the vehicle tax was a slap in the face to the public. It is a fact that most calls to councillors offices are about parking issues. Since that's the work cars are not taxed nearly enough.
Answer: No real answer other than Ford made it an issue and we listened to the people.
......
Final grade for Ana's first town hall?
A+ for good intentions
C- for Implementation
Side Note: I have been unable to find the TTC budget anywhere and it represents about $1.5 billion, the largest peice of the city $9.3 billion budget. Ana though she had it in her binders but it wasn't in the 4 or 5 that councillors get to work with. It is also not on the city budget website. She promised to get back to me on that. As of January 16th, Sunday 3:30pm there are still no briefing notes on the budget available to the public on the city website.
Update: Received copy of TTC pdf budget brief from Ana's office at 2:42pm Monday. Reviewing it now.
A little hard cto find on the city website but it is HERE now....
Kudos to ward 18 Davenport City Councillor Ana Bailao for holding her first Town Hall meeting as was promised in her election campaign. There was a mixed bag of about 60+ people at the Wallace Emerson Community Centre at Dupont and Dufferin on Saturday, January 15. There was really not enough room for everyone to see the slide presentations and it was cramped. A better venue is needed, although there was Tim's coffee, doughnuts and cookies.
*** Update: Inside Toronto reported on the meeting weblink here
*** Update2: Bloordale Press reports on meeting here
The meeting started a little late but included a rather over-long presentation of slides by a senior staff bureaucrat, Josie Lavita, the Director of Financial planning. Lots of figures, pie charts and great detail - pretty much all of which could be found on the city's main website here
Finally, we got to only 10 questions from the 60 people there before it was cut off by Ana citing lack of time.
(about 25 minutes out of 2 hours for questions?)
There were a lot of hands up and people who never got to ask their questions. Ana had intended on the agenda to have small group breakout sessions where neighbourrs were supposed to discuss ward 18 issues together and then present to the larger group. Definitely overyly-optimistic when you allow bureaucrats and other politicians (del Grande) to talk so long. So this 90 minutes of the two hour scheduled meeting never happened.
Insteand, Ana had everyone write out their concerns which were collected as people left by her staff. Presumable she will look at them and perhaps respond to individual concerns, but is was too bad the public did not get to engage much with each other. Good intentions but poor implementation.
Overall, it was 90% a spectator event where you sit and are told what is good, then have a scramble to ask a question - or not. Only a fair grade on public consultation, but at least Ana unlike other councillors is taking this extra step to involve the consituents in some small way.
....
The Questions:
1. Given that Mr. del Grande explained that the budget process has a number of filters: first, staff creates it under Mayor's guidline, then it goes to committees, then it goes to the Mayor's Executive Committee, and then to City Council where it is voted on in late February (23rd) and that public consultation is the last filter to make sure priorities are right, would you consider for the next 2012 budget process to reverse that? In other words, why don't we do a Values Exercise where we put the public at the start of the process and ask what are the 10 or so things in your ward that is important, by priority? Questioner (me) commented that this year's budget is incredibly rushed, has been shown up to have been made up on the fly and this year we have so many rookie councillors just learning, but can it be changed for NEXT year?
Answer: Not really answered. Mike del Grande pointed out that he had sent an email to all councillors asking precisely that, what are the priorities in your ward, and was attacked in the media for having ulterior motives. Followup: I asked Ana if she had responded to that email with priorities and she said, "No".
I really wonder why not?
2. Another person asking why there were service cuts in the budget since no cuts were promised during the election campaign.
Answer: No answer. Some dancing by del Grande about how budgets are very detailed and they are still looking at it.
3. A woman was visibly upset about how user fees for child/day care are done. Full fee is $35 a day but people who are subsidized only pay $6 a day. Cannot afford to save for a down payment for a home and felt it was inequality.
Answer: Ana noted that the subsidies are for those on low income to provide equality precisley because of that.
4. A woman asked how come the Mayor who has only one vote has such power to set the agenda for the budget. It seems like a tyranny.
Answer: Mike del Grande said that Mayor Rob Ford had a mandate becuase of his election and it is normal for mayors to set the tone, just as Miller did. (I challenged him that his mandate is not that detailed, people cote for him for different reasons)
5. Another woman complained that the city seems to be wasting money what with the roads at College and Dovercourt frequently being dug up, filled in, only to be dug up again and repaved many times. Concerned that money is being wasted there when the TTC is in such need. She asked what could be done to make other levels of government (province, federal) pay a greater share.
Answer: Ana responded to last point - elections are coming for those levels. Make yourself heard.
6. An elderly gentleman said property taxpayers are being hit too hard. Why doesn't the TTC have a fare system that charges for the distance travelled like in England?
Answer: Ana pointed out that a lot of low paid people travel farthest just to get to work and it is a service they need.
7. A woman said we should thank former Mayor Miller for the surplus in the budget and asked what the big chunk of the budget that just says "Other" means.
Answer: Financial staff will get back to you on that. ???
------- Actually is almost $700 million or 1.74% of the total budget, not sure what it means either.
8. A fellow named Franz said he liked paying property taxes because it makes for a better and healthier city. He pointed out that each budget seems to go from punishing one group at the expense of others. Example: Now the vehicle registration tax is dead but it is going to hurt the TTC and bus routes are being cut. This led to him directly asking Ana about the TEA (Toronto Environmental Alliance) survey and whether she would support or vote against cutting 48 bus routes.
Answer: Ana said it was intended to increase ridership and that she supports anything that keeps ridership. (?)
9. Another woman on the Vehicle Registration Tax: I have 4 kids, keep my car in the garage most of the time, but most of my family uses the TTC. What will be the actual cost of giving rebates to people for the cancelled tax? (the process)
Answer: Not answered, staff and Ana seemed unsure of what the question was.
10. Last Question: Woman was mystified and said cancelling the vehicle tax was a slap in the face to the public. It is a fact that most calls to councillors offices are about parking issues. Since that's the work cars are not taxed nearly enough.
Answer: No real answer other than Ford made it an issue and we listened to the people.
......
Final grade for Ana's first town hall?
A+ for good intentions
C- for Implementation
Side Note: I have been unable to find the TTC budget anywhere and it represents about $1.5 billion, the largest peice of the city $9.3 billion budget. Ana though she had it in her binders but it wasn't in the 4 or 5 that councillors get to work with. It is also not on the city budget website. She promised to get back to me on that. As of January 16th, Sunday 3:30pm there are still no briefing notes on the budget available to the public on the city website.
Update: Received copy of TTC pdf budget brief from Ana's office at 2:42pm Monday. Reviewing it now.
A little hard cto find on the city website but it is HERE now....
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Is Doug Ford Mayor's Pit Bull?
Shades of Smitherman and McGuinty
Councillor Doug Ford (the Mayor's some say smarter brother who took over ward 2) has been behind the scenes up until recently and now has gone on the attack. Kind of like what George Smitherman used to do for the McGuinty Liberal provincial government. Will we have to come up with a new nickname aka "Furious George" for brother Doug? Maybe "Doug the Destroyer" ? The 45 year old millionaire brother of Mayor Ford has been described as his 'go to guy' often.
Doug Ford Loses Cool Over Budget Grandstanding lashing out at left wing pinkos in public.
Doug Ford Targets Downtown Grants inflaming suburbia vs downtown war. Councillor Carroll calls him "Chicago Doug" because he has a home there and is a big fan of prioivatizing government services.
Councillors Spar in Committee Meeting National Post story.
Doug Ford Campaign Website
Doug Wanted Door to Mayor's Office?
A scary quote by Doug from Oct 22nd just before the election: link
"Up here we call this Ford Country.Every single day I knock on doors and I tell Rob, they know you, they love you. Rob could commit murder on the steps of City Hall and they would still vote for him".
Finding Something to Complain About
It's not just the right wing rednecks that are saying stupid things. Lefty Councillor Adam Vaughan begins to screw up the upcoming police union negotiations by saying Cop Union Holds All the Cards. After the police cut their budgetat request of Fordite councillors, Vaughan (who perhaps is still miffed at beingturfed off the Police Services Board) sticks his nose in to say that because there will be fewer cops, the union "have you over a barrel" and will successfullydemand and get big retention pay for officers who would otherwise retire. Definitely NOT a smart thing to stir the pot for any councillor!
Doug Ford Loses Cool Over Budget Grandstanding lashing out at left wing pinkos in public.
Doug Ford Targets Downtown Grants inflaming suburbia vs downtown war. Councillor Carroll calls him "Chicago Doug" because he has a home there and is a big fan of prioivatizing government services.
Councillors Spar in Committee Meeting National Post story.
Doug Ford Campaign Website
Doug Wanted Door to Mayor's Office?
A scary quote by Doug from Oct 22nd just before the election: link
"Up here we call this Ford Country.Every single day I knock on doors and I tell Rob, they know you, they love you. Rob could commit murder on the steps of City Hall and they would still vote for him".
Finding Something to Complain About
It's not just the right wing rednecks that are saying stupid things. Lefty Councillor Adam Vaughan begins to screw up the upcoming police union negotiations by saying Cop Union Holds All the Cards. After the police cut their budgetat request of Fordite councillors, Vaughan (who perhaps is still miffed at beingturfed off the Police Services Board) sticks his nose in to say that because there will be fewer cops, the union "have you over a barrel" and will successfullydemand and get big retention pay for officers who would otherwise retire. Definitely NOT a smart thing to stir the pot for any councillor!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Whats the Difference? Tax or Fee
TAX:
A fee levied by a government on a product, income or activity. If tax us levied on personal or corporate income, then it is a direct tax. If tax is levied on the price of a good or service, then it is an indirect tax.
(Definition source is here) The purpose of tax is to finance government expenditure. One of the most important uses of taxes is to finance public goods and services, such as street lighting and street cleaning. Since publ;ic goods and services do not allow a non-payer to be excluded, or allow exclusion by a consumer, there cannot be a market in the good or service, ans so they need tro be provided by a government or a quasi-government agency which tend to finance themselves largely through taxes.
FEE:
A fee is a fixed charge or a sium charged for a service. A User Fee is a sum of money paid by the individual who chooses to access a service or facility. With user fees the individual pays for something he wants and receives what he has paid for. In contrast, taxes must be paid by force and do not necessarily go to a specific service or facility that an individual actually uses or benefits from. (source) Because user fees are more palatable than taxes, politicians may sometimes try to disguise taxes as user fees.
USER FEE hikes of $23 million are expected for 2011:
Toronto to Hike Fire False Alarm, Recreation Fees
* Household Garbage Pickup up by 3%
* Water Rate increase up by 9%
* Swimming, Skating, Arts and Crafts, DayCamps, etc up by 3%
* Cost of marriage licence goes up by 8% to $140
* Cost for false fire alarms going up to $1,230 an occurrence
A fee levied by a government on a product, income or activity. If tax us levied on personal or corporate income, then it is a direct tax. If tax is levied on the price of a good or service, then it is an indirect tax.
(Definition source is here) The purpose of tax is to finance government expenditure. One of the most important uses of taxes is to finance public goods and services, such as street lighting and street cleaning. Since publ;ic goods and services do not allow a non-payer to be excluded, or allow exclusion by a consumer, there cannot be a market in the good or service, ans so they need tro be provided by a government or a quasi-government agency which tend to finance themselves largely through taxes.
FEE:
A fee is a fixed charge or a sium charged for a service. A User Fee is a sum of money paid by the individual who chooses to access a service or facility. With user fees the individual pays for something he wants and receives what he has paid for. In contrast, taxes must be paid by force and do not necessarily go to a specific service or facility that an individual actually uses or benefits from. (source) Because user fees are more palatable than taxes, politicians may sometimes try to disguise taxes as user fees.
USER FEE hikes of $23 million are expected for 2011:
Toronto to Hike Fire False Alarm, Recreation Fees
* Household Garbage Pickup up by 3%
* Water Rate increase up by 9%
* Swimming, Skating, Arts and Crafts, DayCamps, etc up by 3%
* Cost of marriage licence goes up by 8% to $140
* Cost for false fire alarms going up to $1,230 an occurrence
Savings Ideas for Toronto Budget
Ponderings, Wonderings, Suggestions and Concerns
Total Toronto City Budget = $9.3 BILLION
Toronto Police Budget: $905.9 Million (+2.2% icrease from 2010)
* Current plan is for 5617-30 = 5,587 officers which still gives Toronto more police per capita than any other Canadian city, except Montreal. (NOW story ) Yet, we still alow the police officer who may be making $100,000/year or more to moonlight on off shifts to supervise construction sites. Do we want people with guns who require critical thinking skills to be doing this when any private security girl/guy could do the same for far less cost. How much would be saved by stopping police from doing this?
* John Sewell, former Toronto Mayor and head of Toronto Police Accountability Coalition (TPAC) suggested that money could be saved by going to single officer in patrol cars. Some say a safety issue, but Sewell's logic is that one officer would be more cautious responding to situations and call in backup when required. Besides, why do we have patrols - police just driving around, possibly aimlessly, anyways? It costs fuel and there is no reason police cars could not be stationed geographically to cover the city and be strategically located for response. They could be doing radar speed traps while waiting for a call. So what if 2 police cars with one officer each arrives at a call? The real cost to the budget as Chief Blair keeps telling us is in labour costs, not equipment.
* Events policing: In his first submission of the 2011 budget, Chief Blair notes that a stressor on police budgetting is the number of events they must police is increasing. Wait a minute. Do we REALLY need police at all these events? Again, private security paid for by event organizers - parade marshals or whatever seems the first consideration. Yes, if there is a big city-wide impact like Pride Parade or Caribana, police no doubt must be involved due to impacts on traffic flows and size of attendees. But how many of us have seen overreaction of having twice or three times as many police at some events? Just say it's an OCAP event and gurantee you, you'll see tons of police there. What of the horse police? What do they do when they are not riot control for protests? Do they wait for calls or can they be in the tourist areas doing policing?
* Why does the civilian oversight Toronto Police Services Board continue to hold all its meetings at Toronto Police HQ on College Street? For propriety and perspective, they should meeting at City Hall. I atttened a meeting there and you would be hard pressed to get over 30 citizens in the room, considering its poor layour and the scores of press that block your view. Perhaps there is office space savings here too, albeit small.
TTC Toronto Transit Commission $1.5 BILLION
City website presntation - click here.
* There is still an $8 million 'unspecified budget reduction' that the TTC must find. I cannot help much because I am still waiting for a call back from the city's 311 service as to where an ordinary citizen can access that. Strange, if they want public consultation on it in a few days.
* Confidence-inspiring TTC Budget found $24 million with haste and blue pen says Toronto Life. Such an obviously rushed budget process does NOT inspire much confidence for me. The TTC is the single largest chunk ofthe overall Toronto City budget (16%). The fact that there was such a rapid flip-flop on the 10 cent fare increase shows up a fault in the process. Why is it that the city relies on unelected bureaucrats to just look at the status quo of what we did last year, tinker with it and then add some predictable increase before releasing to the public? It is never in the interest of bureaucracies to not incress their fiefdoms. Why not start with public input? If you are looking for experts on the service, do not go to TTC managers - go to the riders who use it every day and the front line drivers who know what is needed. Get their suggestions for optimizing service while controlling costs. THEN, pass on those ideas to TTC budget managers.
* TTC ingrained culture and city councillor political bias needs to be changed. With expected ridership of 487 million this year, it is abundantly clear that the TTC is ESSENTIAL to Torontonians. The TTC is not just a business; The TTC is in fact a societal service that governments must fully fund and recognize as a basic infrastructure need in urban cities like Toronto (Councillor Augimeri says that the city is not a business and I completely agree with her). Rider fares cover 70% of the cost which is higher than most North American transit systems and is way too high in my view.(Columnist Royson James did a great article on the TTC by the way). Columnist Christopher Hume also did an excellent article on the misplaced calling of TTC riders "customers" and the mislabelling of citizens as just customers.
OTHER BUDGET AREAS:
cselley Chris Selley Tweeted Fri Jan 14 The City of Toronto has 119 lawyers, apparently. Upon reflection, I'm not shocked by that. hmmmm,...
Total Toronto City Budget = $9.3 BILLION
* Current plan is for 5617-30 = 5,587 officers which still gives Toronto more police per capita than any other Canadian city, except Montreal. (NOW story ) Yet, we still alow the police officer who may be making $100,000/year or more to moonlight on off shifts to supervise construction sites. Do we want people with guns who require critical thinking skills to be doing this when any private security girl/guy could do the same for far less cost. How much would be saved by stopping police from doing this?
* John Sewell, former Toronto Mayor and head of Toronto Police Accountability Coalition (TPAC) suggested that money could be saved by going to single officer in patrol cars. Some say a safety issue, but Sewell's logic is that one officer would be more cautious responding to situations and call in backup when required. Besides, why do we have patrols - police just driving around, possibly aimlessly, anyways? It costs fuel and there is no reason police cars could not be stationed geographically to cover the city and be strategically located for response. They could be doing radar speed traps while waiting for a call. So what if 2 police cars with one officer each arrives at a call? The real cost to the budget as Chief Blair keeps telling us is in labour costs, not equipment.
* Events policing: In his first submission of the 2011 budget, Chief Blair notes that a stressor on police budgetting is the number of events they must police is increasing. Wait a minute. Do we REALLY need police at all these events? Again, private security paid for by event organizers - parade marshals or whatever seems the first consideration. Yes, if there is a big city-wide impact like Pride Parade or Caribana, police no doubt must be involved due to impacts on traffic flows and size of attendees. But how many of us have seen overreaction of having twice or three times as many police at some events? Just say it's an OCAP event and gurantee you, you'll see tons of police there. What of the horse police? What do they do when they are not riot control for protests? Do they wait for calls or can they be in the tourist areas doing policing?
* Why does the civilian oversight Toronto Police Services Board continue to hold all its meetings at Toronto Police HQ on College Street? For propriety and perspective, they should meeting at City Hall. I atttened a meeting there and you would be hard pressed to get over 30 citizens in the room, considering its poor layour and the scores of press that block your view. Perhaps there is office space savings here too, albeit small.
City website presntation - click here.
* There is still an $8 million 'unspecified budget reduction' that the TTC must find. I cannot help much because I am still waiting for a call back from the city's 311 service as to where an ordinary citizen can access that. Strange, if they want public consultation on it in a few days.
* Confidence-inspiring TTC Budget found $24 million with haste and blue pen says Toronto Life. Such an obviously rushed budget process does NOT inspire much confidence for me. The TTC is the single largest chunk ofthe overall Toronto City budget (16%). The fact that there was such a rapid flip-flop on the 10 cent fare increase shows up a fault in the process. Why is it that the city relies on unelected bureaucrats to just look at the status quo of what we did last year, tinker with it and then add some predictable increase before releasing to the public? It is never in the interest of bureaucracies to not incress their fiefdoms. Why not start with public input? If you are looking for experts on the service, do not go to TTC managers - go to the riders who use it every day and the front line drivers who know what is needed. Get their suggestions for optimizing service while controlling costs. THEN, pass on those ideas to TTC budget managers.
* TTC ingrained culture and city councillor political bias needs to be changed. With expected ridership of 487 million this year, it is abundantly clear that the TTC is ESSENTIAL to Torontonians. The TTC is not just a business; The TTC is in fact a societal service that governments must fully fund and recognize as a basic infrastructure need in urban cities like Toronto (Councillor Augimeri says that the city is not a business and I completely agree with her). Rider fares cover 70% of the cost which is higher than most North American transit systems and is way too high in my view.(Columnist Royson James did a great article on the TTC by the way). Columnist Christopher Hume also did an excellent article on the misplaced calling of TTC riders "customers" and the mislabelling of citizens as just customers.
OTHER BUDGET AREAS:
cselley Chris Selley Tweeted Fri Jan 14 The City of Toronto has 119 lawyers, apparently. Upon reflection, I'm not shocked by that. hmmmm,...
Picking Out the Real Issues in the Daily News
How Do You Decide What's Important to Notice in the News
Being Aware is Tougher than it Used to Be
Every day the blast of information from mainstream media (newspapers, TC, radio) and social media (eg Spacing, Torontoist, Twitter, weblogs, etc) is intense, gigantic and shouting for our attention.
Mainstream news cycles used to be predictable. There were time slots when those with something to say had to be aware of. Want to get your message seen on TV? Better plan ahead for release so the journalists can get their act together for broadcast/deadline times.Press releases and announcements were controlled and the message was well thought out before release.
Now, with our microchip-speeded-up-world, even mainstream media is publishing news on the fly. Some newspapers have multiple editions a day, particularly if you look at them online. I regulary and somewhat obsessively check The Star, The Globe and Mail, The Sun, The National Post, CP24, CBC, CTV, and CityNews to keep up with the daily deluge of disasters that are offered up.
Add in the on the spot, citizen average person anywhere with a cell phone and internet connection, and the flood of things going on in our local world is not just a torrent of data but a flood of biblical proportions.
Being the organic and not silicon-based creatures that we are, we can only notice so much and our attention spans are organically controlled (We can be hyper-vigilant and alert for only so long). Yet the speed of life and the computer age is driving us to react ever faster.
Take for instance just the latest news in The Star. Which of these did you really take note of?
* A New Budget Day: Fare Hike Off, Police Force to Shrink
* Officer Killed, Driver Shot in Stolen Snowplow Rampage
* SIU Clears Toronto Officer in Man's Fatal Fall
* Man Arrested in Yonge St. Standoff Has Merdical Issues, Mother Says
* Woman Hit By Car Near Bay and Dundas
* Ambulances Slower to Respond to Emergencies
* Loblaw Ready to Tear Down Historic Warehouse
* Pedestrian Killed By Streetcar
* Councillors Compare Leaked Memo to 'Wikileaks'
* Man Charged in Toronto's Second Homicide of 2011
* An End to the War on Pets?
Remember, this is just ONE news source. If you were a Toronto City Councillor, which stories would you take note of, or even be aware of?
SPACING Toronto launched in 2003 makes a valiant effort daily to list all the headline stories by their own criteria, but because of political bias, they may often miss some key stories.
Finally, here is an example of an important story that has not gotten much traction in the news:
CRTC Propose to Change Standard for Reporting False or Misleading News ... How did I find that? By noticing ONE tweet our of hundreds
Being Aware Is Tougher Than It Used to Be
Being Aware is Tougher than it Used to Be
Every day the blast of information from mainstream media (newspapers, TC, radio) and social media (eg Spacing, Torontoist, Twitter, weblogs, etc) is intense, gigantic and shouting for our attention.
Mainstream news cycles used to be predictable. There were time slots when those with something to say had to be aware of. Want to get your message seen on TV? Better plan ahead for release so the journalists can get their act together for broadcast/deadline times.Press releases and announcements were controlled and the message was well thought out before release.
Now, with our microchip-speeded-up-world, even mainstream media is publishing news on the fly. Some newspapers have multiple editions a day, particularly if you look at them online. I regulary and somewhat obsessively check The Star, The Globe and Mail, The Sun, The National Post, CP24, CBC, CTV, and CityNews to keep up with the daily deluge of disasters that are offered up.
Add in the on the spot, citizen average person anywhere with a cell phone and internet connection, and the flood of things going on in our local world is not just a torrent of data but a flood of biblical proportions.
Being the organic and not silicon-based creatures that we are, we can only notice so much and our attention spans are organically controlled (We can be hyper-vigilant and alert for only so long). Yet the speed of life and the computer age is driving us to react ever faster.
Take for instance just the latest news in The Star. Which of these did you really take note of?
* A New Budget Day: Fare Hike Off, Police Force to Shrink
* Officer Killed, Driver Shot in Stolen Snowplow Rampage
* SIU Clears Toronto Officer in Man's Fatal Fall
* Man Arrested in Yonge St. Standoff Has Merdical Issues, Mother Says
* Woman Hit By Car Near Bay and Dundas
* Ambulances Slower to Respond to Emergencies
* Loblaw Ready to Tear Down Historic Warehouse
* Pedestrian Killed By Streetcar
* Councillors Compare Leaked Memo to 'Wikileaks'
* Man Charged in Toronto's Second Homicide of 2011
* An End to the War on Pets?
Remember, this is just ONE news source. If you were a Toronto City Councillor, which stories would you take note of, or even be aware of?
SPACING Toronto launched in 2003 makes a valiant effort daily to list all the headline stories by their own criteria, but because of political bias, they may often miss some key stories.
Finally, here is an example of an important story that has not gotten much traction in the news:
CRTC Propose to Change Standard for Reporting False or Misleading News ... How did I find that? By noticing ONE tweet our of hundreds
Being Aware Is Tougher Than It Used to Be
Monday, January 10, 2011
Where The Money Goes
$9.396 BILLION Budget (draft Jan10, 2011)
A pie cut into twenty slices, where the money goes.
(the budget presentation can be found here. )
$1,534,100,000 = TTC (16.3%)
$1,205,500,000 = Employment and Social Services (12.9%) *
$ 983,100,000 = Police (10.5%)
$ 916,800,000 = Shelter,Support,Housing Administration (9.8%)
$ 832,500,000 = Governance and Internal Services (8.9%)
$ 445,600,000 = Debt services (4.7%)
$ 387,400,000 = Children's Services (4.1%)
$ 371,500,000 = Fire Services (4.0%)
$ 357,700,000 = Parks, Forestry, Recreation (4.0%)
$ 291,100,000 = Transportation Services (3.1%)
$ 232,200,000 = Toronto Public Health (2.5%)
$ 223,800,000 = Long Term Homes and Services (2.4%)
$ 217,700,000 = Fleet and Facilities (2.3%)
$ 201,600,000 = Capital and Corpoirate Financing (2.1%)
$ 183,800,000 = Toronto Public Library (2.0%)
$ 170,800,000 = EMS (1.8%)
$ 698,100,000 = Other (1.74%)
$ 49,600,000 = Licencing and Standards (0.5%)
$ 36,500,000 = City Planning (0.4%)
$ 36,300,000 = Economic Development and Culture (0.4%)
* Include social services are what was downloaded from the Province by Mike Harris in 1990. The city must administer Ontario Works (general welfare) and the Ontario Disability Support (ODSP). Uploading is still being discussed and negotiated.
Of interest is the comparison to the 2010 Miller budget which was $9.28 BILLION. It initially included a property tax increase of 4% but that was later cut to 2.9% when miraculously another $100 million or so was found in the budget in March. There was no TTC fare increase last year, bt they are calling for a 10 cent increase this year.
Another point: the roughly $68 million increase of 2011 over 2010 budget pretty much equals the Personal vehicle Tax that Ford cut in December to take effect January 1, 2011.
...
Where Do Your $3,579,000,000 ($3.6 BILLION) in Property Taxes Go?
25.6% to Police
16.1% to Other
14.1% to TTC
11.4% to Debt Charges
...
Mayor Rob Ford at the budget kickoff thanked those departments that met call for 5% reduction and essentially threatened the jobs of those managers in departments that did not do so.
Ford Threatens to Fire City Managers Who Don't Trim Budgets
So.... Who is being threatened and what did they ask for?
Police Chief Bill Blair (+3%) ?
TTC General Manager Gary Webster ?
Toronto Public Library (+2.0%)
Toronto Public Health (+0.7%)
Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (+12.9%)
Parks, Forestry and Recreation (+5.2%)
Children's Services (+4.4%)
311 Toronto (+3.3%)
Municipal Licensing and Standards (+12.3%)
TTC WheelTrans (+10.1%)
Area Boards of Management (+11.9%)
In some cases, like the Toronto Library and Public Health, it is not the bureaucracy managers at fault, but the city council committees that permitted or overrode budget demands.
A pie cut into twenty slices, where the money goes.
(the budget presentation can be found here. )
$1,534,100,000 = TTC (16.3%)
$1,205,500,000 = Employment and Social Services (12.9%) *
$ 983,100,000 = Police (10.5%)
$ 916,800,000 = Shelter,Support,Housing Administration (9.8%)
$ 832,500,000 = Governance and Internal Services (8.9%)
$ 445,600,000 = Debt services (4.7%)
$ 387,400,000 = Children's Services (4.1%)
$ 371,500,000 = Fire Services (4.0%)
$ 357,700,000 = Parks, Forestry, Recreation (4.0%)
$ 291,100,000 = Transportation Services (3.1%)
$ 232,200,000 = Toronto Public Health (2.5%)
$ 223,800,000 = Long Term Homes and Services (2.4%)
$ 217,700,000 = Fleet and Facilities (2.3%)
$ 201,600,000 = Capital and Corpoirate Financing (2.1%)
$ 183,800,000 = Toronto Public Library (2.0%)
$ 170,800,000 = EMS (1.8%)
$ 698,100,000 = Other (1.74%)
$ 49,600,000 = Licencing and Standards (0.5%)
$ 36,500,000 = City Planning (0.4%)
$ 36,300,000 = Economic Development and Culture (0.4%)
* Include social services are what was downloaded from the Province by Mike Harris in 1990. The city must administer Ontario Works (general welfare) and the Ontario Disability Support (ODSP). Uploading is still being discussed and negotiated.
Of interest is the comparison to the 2010 Miller budget which was $9.28 BILLION. It initially included a property tax increase of 4% but that was later cut to 2.9% when miraculously another $100 million or so was found in the budget in March. There was no TTC fare increase last year, bt they are calling for a 10 cent increase this year.
Another point: the roughly $68 million increase of 2011 over 2010 budget pretty much equals the Personal vehicle Tax that Ford cut in December to take effect January 1, 2011.
...
Where Do Your $3,579,000,000 ($3.6 BILLION) in Property Taxes Go?
25.6% to Police
16.1% to Other
14.1% to TTC
11.4% to Debt Charges
...
Mayor Rob Ford at the budget kickoff thanked those departments that met call for 5% reduction and essentially threatened the jobs of those managers in departments that did not do so.
Ford Threatens to Fire City Managers Who Don't Trim Budgets
So.... Who is being threatened and what did they ask for?
Police Chief Bill Blair (+3%) ?
TTC General Manager Gary Webster ?
Toronto Public Library (+2.0%)
Toronto Public Health (+0.7%)
Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (+12.9%)
Parks, Forestry and Recreation (+5.2%)
Children's Services (+4.4%)
311 Toronto (+3.3%)
Municipal Licensing and Standards (+12.3%)
TTC WheelTrans (+10.1%)
Area Boards of Management (+11.9%)
In some cases, like the Toronto Library and Public Health, it is not the bureaucracy managers at fault, but the city council committees that permitted or overrode budget demands.
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